I’ve seen some very nice posts on this site over the last couple of weeks, Scott Ferguson, Ibraar Hussain and myself even got to start critique about some posts, which I find marvellous. It is, for me, the way to grow, to learn, and try new tips from others.
One thing I haven’t seen yet is shots that should have been keepers but weren’t for some reason. I also haven’t seen much in the way of a dedicated form of criticism. Also, I thought this might interest you a bit.
I will present you a few shots, give you my point of view of why they failed and hopefully you will join me and give me your advice or thoughts in the comments. Good/bad, it doesn’t matter, what I’m looking for is constructive criticism. To grow from your experience, point of view, and your mistakes too.
What do you think?
So let’s start this adventure into the past with the first shot (at the top of the post above). This was taken with the Leica M240 + 35 Lux. For me it’s a no brainer: bad composition (look at the part of the chandelier in the upper right corner. The people are not on any point of the rule of third, eventually, I should have waited for the lady with the dog to be out of the picture (negative space) and the couple speaking, not him on his phone. What’s your take on it ?
The second photo (below) was shot with an M9 Monochrom and a Cron 75 Apo. It was a cold day in Boston, with beautiful light, unfortunately no one in the street. I was attending a photo workshop.
So, I like the mood and lighting of the image, however the pole shouldn’t be there. If I had moved 2 meters to the right (and maybe advanced a little), that would have let the subject wouldn’t have been obstructed in the picture, and the shot could have been a keeper for me.
Next one. A nice reflection. I loved how she was struggling to choose and saw her arm moving, thus I focused and shot, as there would have been no second chance!
What makes it uninteresting for me is simply my own bloody reflection that messes the shot up completely. Imagine it without my fuzzy self!
For this next one, we were around 10 people, all friends of one or more in the group. The mood was cool, very dim light, it was taken with an R8 and the 100mm Apo.
Conclusion: Wrong lens. It forced me to shoot at 1/12s (which I wasn’t accustomed to at the time). I should have taken the 75 cron instead. Its widest aperture is f/2, which is a whole stop brighter than the 100mm. One stop can be a lot, and it would have given me better framing, better focusing, and an overall better picture.
The next shot was taken late afternoon, again with the 100 Apo and the R8 at f4. The down angle is simply due to the fact that he was stood on a stage.
Love the mood, however he turned his face whilst I was pressing the shutter release. If I had have practiced more how to focus with an SLR, I would have had the right moment! Also, a shot from the other side would have turned out better I think.
This next shot was a spur of the moment shot that captured this person step on the windowsill. I acted by pure instinct, and this was the shot I took.
With hindsight, If I were to have moved back about a meter and composed slightly differently, I could have had his feet in the frame and not the top of the window which feels much less important to the shot.
The last one is a recent one. Shot with a Leica MA and a 35mm Lux.
Wrong choice of lens, should have gone with the 75mm, as my subject here are the two little girls in the back on the right. Yes, I could crop, but there is not enough definition to do so, and even with resolution, they are not in the right place. My framing was for that little girl with a 35. Conclusion: I need to think more before shooting, shoot with INTEND and THINK before acting!
I learned the hard way to “kill my babies”, and I’m glad as posting these would have reflected badly on my page, and would not reflect at all what I am capable of. It’s as simple as that from my point of view.
What’s yours?
Cheers
Alex
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Andrew Gurthet on Reflecting on a few of my failures
Comment posted: 05/12/2025
Michael Flory on Reflecting on a few of my failures
Comment posted: 05/12/2025
Neil Lloyd on Reflecting on a few of my failures
Comment posted: 05/12/2025
Now this brings back memories, I use to do this all the time, constantly analyzing where I'd gone wrong. I would pick every frame apart which then turned to frustration and disillusionment. As time went by though, I enjoyed my photography less and less. I reached the point where I didn't pick up a camera for a couple of years believing I couldn't take the perfect picture. Now, I just laugh at my mistakes and leave it there, it was a weight off my shoulders, I'm content with one or two okay ones these days but if I get a real gem then I'm over the moon.
You know where your compositions went awry and that is half the battle but I like them, they're natural, warts and all and just being out and about with a camera is a pleasure in it's self. Thanks for sharing.
Michael Murray on Reflecting on a few of my failures
Comment posted: 05/12/2025
Image 1: I think the tight looping chandelier in the top right echoes the hoops in the floor. Perhaps it is more hectic and less clean, but I always like it when the edges aren’t perfectly clean- it seems more natural and less contrived. I also like the perspective, the presence of three figures, and the blatant appearance of a device in each person’s hand. However, I think, like you intimated, that the composition would have been more refined if a moment occurred where every device was out of sight. Black and white feels like a timeless format, and the screens put a clear time period in center stage.
Image 2: What works? Backlighting, mist/water, figure in almost total silhouette. Again, I concur that the placement of the post is off, but I think not by much. Even if you shifted a step right, not a full 2 meters, moving the post maybe a quarter inch left in the frame, you’d have your subject more separated. I actually think the post is a net benefit to the composition: it gives scale to your anonymous subject in a way that would otherwise be absent.
Image 3: I reflected on this one before reading your notes. I also like using reflections as secondary elements in composition, but here I think they overshadow the subject(s) too heavily. Perhaps a polarizer would have reduced them slightly without eliminating them.
Image 4: For me, the error here isn’t in the motion resulting from the longer shutter, or the softer focus, it is in the placement. If your subject’s dominant eye was at least centered- or better yet slightly right of center from the perspective of the viewer, it would be more balanced. As it is, the direction of the gaze gives us imagined leading lines straight out of the frame. I wouldn’t have only panned left and eliminated the ear ring and hair detail, however. Instead, I’d think about stepping back a foot, allowing that nice detail to remain but also place that dominant eye in a more pleasing location.
Image 5: You’re spot on: need a little bit more of the face.
Image 6: Again, you’re right to note a step back would have fit your interesting subject totally in frame. Looks like he was bookended by a couple other performers, anyway. I didn’t see you mention which lens this was, but my guess would have been a 50. With 35, or even a wild 28, I often find I like including more of the scene in these spontaneous moments. You can always crop slightly, but you can’t add back in what was cut out of the initial frame.
Final image: I have to disagree here. I think the focal length was right on. The background elements aren’t distracting, rather they give a stage for your characters to perform in. However, I would change something. A lower, almost ground level POV, might add some drama and allow you to reduce a bit of the space taken up by the foreground and move the suggested horizon line away from center.
Thanks so much for inviting some feedback and reflection!